Aphotic
by babybuonarroti
Summary: "You can't come any closer..." He spoke, and she was surprised to hear his voice so clearly and without obstruction. "Go back to the surface, you should never have come here." Rated T. AU. SoMa.
1. Prelude

**Prelude: The Lake**

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The waters beneath were a shocking sheet of ebony. She could not see herself-there was no reflection. A black expanse which consumed light, leaving nothing in its absence. Her fingers stretched outward, her eyes transfixed by the anomaly spreading before her.

The tip of her finger disappeared beneath the water's surface, though no ripples were created by the sudden intrusion. The water was cold, but not unbearable. Her fingers stretched onward until her hand was fully submerged. It simply disappeared, as if her hand had been severed at the wrist.

She retracted it, observing the water's effects on her hand. There were none; the liquid on her hand was clear, though it dripped from her skin and turned to black on its journey downward. The droplets returned to the sheet of black they had originated from, though they did not disturb it's glass-like surface. How peculiar.

Her eyes were wide, brows drawn as she leaned over the side of her small boat. It was stuck in suspension, never moving unless she were to force it herself. Again she placed her hand within the water, dragging it in a meaningless pattern in an attempt to disturb the perpetually smooth surface. She could not.

The girl was enticed by the liquid, so very consumed by it that she sunk her arms deeper and deeper within the blackened waters until she toppled headfirst into it. Her body was swallowed whole by the lake, her feet disappearing beyond the surface without a trace. Her eyes were open in surprise, and the water below the surface seemed to be less opaque. She could see her hands, the tiny bubbles which formed when she moved them this way and that. The surface above remained as glass; the bubbles never reached it.

The water was cold and grey. She looked up towards the surface, met only with black, whereas the lake beneath was lighter, clearer. Or perhaps she was wrong; perhaps the surface was lighter and the bottom darker. That certainly made more sense. She may have gotten the two mixed up, considering she _had_ entered the water upside down to begin with.

Though she was holding her breath, she didn't feel any urgency to breathe. There was no rush. It vaguely registered that she had never been able to hold her breath this long.

She began swimming towards the clear waters, watching the liquid around her become a fading gradient. Her hands were outstretched towards the light, which only seemed to become more radiant. Though before her fingers could meet the pale gray waters, a hand clasped around her wrist and tugged her away. She was jogged from her reverie.

Her head turned, emerald eyes falling upon the face of a man. Crimson eyes and striking white hair, his head shaking from side to side in warning. Her brows furrowed, asking an unspoken question as she turned again to look at the light. Light was a good thing, was it not?

"You can't come any closer..." He spoke, and she was surprised to hear his voice so clearly and without obstruction. "Go back to the surface, you should never have come here."

"But why?" She asked, discovering that she, too, could speak, and could breathe down here. What was this lake if clearly is was not composed of water? What was this calm, lulling feeling that was making her drowsy; tranquil?

"It's not safe for you here." He urged, swimming away from the light with her in tow. He was dragging her towards the surface, back into the darkness, ignoring any protests she might have had. The water was smooth, easy to maneuver within, and so he toted her a decent ways up before she retaliated.

"But why are you here?" She challenged, tugging her arm free of his hold. He met her gaze evenly as she crossed her arms over her chest. They hung there in suspension, in the sea of grey, challenging one another. "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter." He snapped, and it was evident that he was becoming impatient. He glared at her with scorching eyes, full of burning coals. His lips were drawn, baring jagged teeth which resembled those of a shark. "You must leave! _Go_! And don't come back here!"

She hesitated, pondering his words for a few short moments before deciding to heed his warning. Her lips were positioned in a pout, eyebrows furrowed in frustration before she begrudgingly uncrossed her arms. He seemed rather adamant, and his urgency was beginning to make her anxious. Her head slowly came to nod, her gaze shifting back up towards the seemingly endless layer of darkness. She swam towards it, her head breaking through the glass and into the open air.

The sun was setting. It had been rising when she dove into the lake. Her boat was missing, _vanished_. She could only see black surrounding her, stretching on for what seemed like miles.

 _"It's not safe for you here."_

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 **A/N: Just gonna... Plop this here. Please let me know if this is something that interests you and that you'd like to see more of.**


	2. Familiar

**Familiar**

* * *

Soft notes reached her, coiling around each arm at the wrist and snaking their way upward. Once she was within their grasp, they pulled, tugged her towards the door to her bedroom. It was early morning- a holiday, which meant no school. The piano tones only proved to grow louder, become faster, as she padded with heavy boots through her kitchen and towards the door.

"Good mor- Maka, hunny?" The words fell on deaf ears, the music drowning out the world around her. "Are you sleepwalking again?" It was her father who asked, though he knew the answer already. He rose from his seat, brows knitting in concern as he slowly walked over to meet her.

She was just reaching for the doorknob when his hands gently met her shoulders, intending to guide her back to her room rather than wake her. He sighed, attempting to turn her away from the door. Only recently had she begun sleepwalking; she had never done this as a child. And suddenly, out of the blue, she was sleepwalking every single morning.

Only this time, as she turned, he realized that her eyes were open. She blinked once, twice, before it seemed that she came to recognize him. Her raised arm fell to her side with a smack and she adorned a look of confusion. He, too, was confused.

"Are you feeling okay?" It was the first thing he could think to ask, as she looked rather pale.

She nodded, whispering, "Yeah." As if she had only just deduced that much herself. The music had all but faded, still playing softly in her ears. "I'm going to the library, I'll see you this afternoon."

He looked rather skeptical, but ultimately let it go. She hadn't gotten along with him very well since he and her mother had gotten divorced, so he had developed a tendency to let her get away with much more than she should. Luckily, she didn't use it to her advantage very often. "Okay, don't be out late."

"I'll see you later, Papa." She offered a shell of a smile, turning her attention back to the door. She didn't know when, but she had gotten dressed. It was strange: she could remember nothing, think of nothing beyond the song that had completely encapsulated her senses.

Her dainty fingers wrapped around the door handle, twisting it and pulling towards herself. The air outside was warm, though not uncomfortable. It molded to her skin once she stepped outside. The music was much clearer out here, its pace seeming to hike up when she pushed the door closed and began to walk. Each step raised the volume.

Chunks of emerald glanced around, finding no visible difference in her surroundings. Everything seemed normal; the world was still passing by as it should, without obstruction. Maka took purposeless steps, her mind dissolving into the tune that played for only her.

Music notes coiled around her legs. They grasped her waist and her arms and they pulled her. She could feel the song itself dragging her, leading her, luring her in, and she allowed it to. Its sound was unlike anything she had heard before; a confession of one's true self, an ode to one's soul. It opened its jaws and swallowed her whole, leaving her completely entranced as she took step after step after step.

Her path wound throughout the city, eyes hardly focused; the world was simply a blur. She came to meet the outskirts of town, where the buildings became farther apart and the civilians disappeared. The piano was blaring now; impossibly loud as it echoed within the walls of her head. Her breathing felt restricted and her stomach was flooded by a cold-burning white heat, her heart pounding as though she could not move fast enough.

She was running, when had she started running? Her lungs were ablaze, her hands reaching to cover her ears as the music only amplified. Where was she going? Why was it so _loud_?

And with a thundering crash, a slam of hands onto the keys, the music came to a halt. As had her feet. Her chest was heaving, her head dizzied by the sudden silence within her mind. At the tip of her shoes was a lake, a lake of pure black, which was just as flat and as pristine as a sheet of glass. She stared, taking a moment to recover her breath before making any movements.

The longer her gaze lay fixated on the pit of light-absorbing liquid, the calmer she became. She was safe here, safe from the roar inside her mind. Yes, this was a safe place. Those were the words it spoke to her, without actually speaking at all.

Maka lifted a leg, taking a languid step forward to submerge her foot in the lake, except there was no ground beneath her foot, and she simply fell into the water. She was startled at first, but soon came to be lulled. The cold waters were comforting, hugging her. Her mind felt clearer, her thoughts cleaner and more organized. She was bathed in tranquility.

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift, to sink. Lower and lower and lower, farther and farther and farther. There was no need to resist, no need to fight the downward pull. It was blissful rest, what she felt inside these waters. She wouldn't question it. Why should she? Everything felt so _right._ That was, until she heard a voice which startled her from her peace.

"I thought I told you to leave this place." The man chastised, his scowl deepening as he examined the calm that had overtaken her features. Fine white brows were drawn together above glowing rubies. "Don't you know what will happen if you stay in this lake for too long?"

She could only shake her head, gaze clashing against his.

"You won't be able to _leave_." He warned, though his sense of urgency seemed to be lacking. Perhaps he, too, had been lulled by the lake. "Why have you come here?"

"The music took me here." Maka replied, seemingly unphased by his warning, "Why have _you_ come here?"

He snorted, baring his jagged teeth as he scoffed, "Haven't you already put it together? I can't _leave_."

So he was trapped here. By who? "Who are you? Who's keeping you captive?"

"This lake is alive, you know." The other began, ignoring her questions near completely. "The lake will lure you in, it will speak to you in ways you wouldn't imagine, and then it will rock you to sleep."

"Why does it want you to sleep?" She asked, perplexed.

"So that it can sever your soul." He answered. His head nodded towards the light just beneath them. It was glowing. "Those… Those are souls. Mine is there too."

"You never told me, who are you?" She asked again, making it the third time in total. Her gaze had locked onto the glowing mass of white light beneath them. Who were those people? How many were there?

"My name is Soul." The boy finally provided, his gaze meeting hers once more. "And you are...?"

"Maka." Her reply was warm, a bit of a smile showing as she thrust out her hand for the other to shake.

He slowly met her offer, his hand closing around her own with a small dip. "You need to leave, Maka. You can't keep coming here."

"I don't want to leave you here." She didn't feel right, escaping without him. "How do I pull you out?"

His ever-present glare softened at her words, his shoulders falling slack. "You don't. My soul is bound to this lake."

Her brow furrowed, lips tightening as she tasted his words. "There has to be a way." She replied, resolve turning her voice to steel. She glanced back up towards the surface, which was solid ebony, before shifting her attention back to Soul. "I should go now, but next time… we'll leave together, okay?"

He quirked a brow. "I've already warned you not to come back here. Don't you understand the severity of the situation? Why do you even _care_?"

"I don't know." She admitted, cocking her head to the side. "You look familiar. And this place, it doesn't feel malicious."

" _This place feels familiar, too."_

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 **A/N: So it has occurred to me that this is very weird. BUT, just stay with me. Things will be explained in time. Action will ensue. Let me know what you think.**


	3. Slumber

**Slumber**

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Steel-lined boots padded along the sandy flat which encompassed the lake. It had been exactly three days since her last encounter with the expanse of ebony, for she had spent countless hours in the library searching for an explanation of this anomaly. For all her hard work, she had discovered nothing. Not a single thing. It was frustrating, and frankly, she was confused. How could she not be? Especially seeing as she had awoken that morning to the sight of the black lake mere centimeters away from her shoes.

What is this place?

She continued her trek along the perimeter, attempting to digest every inch of her opponent. Soul was adamant about keeping her out of the waters, should she be lulled by the tranquilizing substance. And yet, there was no visible way to defeat it. Not from the outside. With each passing step she gained nothing, and lost energy. It sucked the very life from her. She compared it to a very weak black hole.

Her thoughts began to roam, concocting possibilities and scenarios for attempting to save the ivory haired shark; swimming about, prowling. That was until she came across something rather peculiar. It caused her to halt abruptly, brows knitting as she attempted to make sense of it.

A hand - be it still gently tanned and fleshy as if blood still coursed through its veins - lay flat, palm down against the cold sand. Its fingers were long and thin, skin molding over bone without much there between. She crouched next to it, curious fingers reaching to grasp it. A person? Someone like her, who had been drawn in by the mesmerizing phenomenon?

"Stop." The voice caused her to freeze, body becoming rigid. Had she been doused by liquid nitrogen? "I mean - I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Her head turned to survey the area, finding no one to be present. "Who's there?" She called, keeping the weariness from her voice. Her face was brave, though she was admittedly a bit nervous.

"If you do that... well, you'll see the outcome." They continued, voice sounding as if it was coming from the lake.

Maka rose to her feet, staring down into the black with blazing emeralds. She was curious - curious to know about this mysterious hand, curious to know about the mysterious voice, curious to know who they belonged to. Were they the same? They both lay within the lake, within the place she was warned not to go. And yet she found her foot pulling towards the surface, resting just above.

"I can give you answers, if you come inside." The voice promised, and that seemed to tip the scale.

She fell forward, submerged within in ink-like waters. Her eyes were closed upon entry, though they opened to a rather interesting sight. The boy she normally met, Soul, was before her. And yet he looked different. His eyes, they were closed, and his chest was rising and falling delicately… as if he were asleep. His skin seemed a darker shade than she was used to; a healthy tan, even a flush to his cheeks that seemed... lively. She couldn't help but notice that his arm stretched up towards the surface, hand disappearing beyond it at the wrist. Was he trying to escape? Was he stuck here?

"Soul?" Maka asked gently, reaching for the boy's shoulder. She shook him once, watched his head loll forward and his pale tresses splay out in the water. He didn't rouse. "Soul?" She repeated, voice a bit louder.

"He won't wake up, you know." The same voice from before, though much louder. It was no longer muffled, the tones sounding airy and high pitched.

Her head turned, finding another being caught in suspension, wading through the water. One hand clenched their opposite arm, rosy hair falling in disproportionate chunks over and around their face. The being was androgynous, thin as a rail, and dressed in a lengthy black gown which was not visibly disturbed by the water. Pale skin appeared incandescent, making the being look apparition-like.

"He fell asleep here some time ago. He won't wake up now." They repeated themselves, eyes averted to the glow beneath them.

"Who are you?" Maka asked, her hand still in position on Soul's shoulder. He wouldn't wake up? But he'd only just spoken with her days before. The way the being spoke made it sound as though he'd been sleeping for much longer than a few days. "Why won't he wake up?"

"Who am I?" They cocked their head to the side, showcasing clear confusion. "You mean you don't know?"

Maka shook her head in return.

"You are within me." They stated simply. "This is my soul."

There was a definite widening of eyes, a slight opening of the lips, as she was taken aback by the statement. "Your soul?" She echoed, head turning to observe the darkened waters around them. She moved to return her gaze to the being, but they had disappeared. Not a trace.

She tried to brush the peculiar meeting aside, eyes roaming back to Soul. Perhaps they were just feeding her lies, it was not hard to do in a situation where she knew little to nothing about her location. Soul had told her the lake was alive, but how could a soul exist on its own? She discarded the others words, focusing on the boy she'd come to retrieve. He was right in front of her; her issues had nearly resolved themselves. _He won't wake up, you know._ The words echoed in her mind. She followed the length of his arm up to the black, deciding upon what she would do. She would pull him out.

 _I wouldn't do that if I were you._

She had never been good at heeding others' advice.

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 **A/N: Apologies for the short chapter, and the wait.**


	4. Consequences

**Consequences**

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Her arms rose to encircle the man's waist, grabbing him as securely as she could before she began swimming towards the surface. The hand which had remained on the shore was pulled into the lake by her efforts, Soul's body all but folding in half at the waist. She drug him upward, her head breaking the water's surface shortly before she was able to hoist him above the waterline.

His reaction was immediate; eyes snapping open with a large inhalation of breath, as if the very life had been shoved back into his body. His head whipped around, taking in the visage of the black surface surrounding them, limbs thrashing as if he were trying to escape from a sinister outcome. Maka was alarmed, calling out his name to provide some vague testament to concern.

"Wha-What is this?" He panted, his chest heaving and his alabaster bangs clinging to his face and neck. His eyes pinned the shore, quickly swimming over towards it with Maka in tow. It was difficult to climb out, the lake being more of a cylindrical, indefinitely deep pit which had been filled with what Maka was still unable to identify. There was no solid footing for them to utilize, merely upper arm strength and flexibility.

Once Maka had maneuvered herself onto shore, she turned over to her knees and offered to help pull Soul out. His hands latched around her wrists, and hers mirrored his actions, before she rocked back and pulled him from the waters. His clothing sagged from his body, hanging off loosely, as Maka's clung to her like a second skin. He allowed a particularly hoarse cough to escape him, forcing the phlegm free from the grasp of his throat.

"Are you okay?" She asked, steadying her breathing as she watched him struggle to maintain his own. Air left them in clouds of transparent white, a visible sign of the temperature.

It was cold. It hadn't been cold when she entered the lake; it _was_ the end of summer, but still summer no less. The sudden cold front seemed unusual, even in a place like this. She huddled down into her knees, attempting to generate some warmth from the contact. With sopping wet clothes, she wasn't seeing much luck. She began to tremble.

"I'm fine." He assured, running a hand through his hair to push it back, keeping the water from running into his eyes and mouth.

White locks were slicked back and clung like a second scalp, water dripping down the back and sides of his neck in rivulets. Amaranth washed over her, taking in the image of her sopping wet and shaking, quickly deciding that he needed to get her somewhere warm and dry. Soon. "We should get going." He suggested, worry poorly concealed in his shaking voice. "It's really cold here."

Maka could only nod, watching as Soul heaved himself to his feet. He closed what little space resided between them and thrust out his hand for her to take. Her palm laid across his, fingers encircling the appendage and pulling to hoist herself upward. Luckily, there was no wind, for it would have cut directly through the pair of them and struck bone. They stood, each seeming rather hesitant to advance from here. They hardly knew each other; would they simply return to their lives from here? Leave the anomaly behind in the dust?

"Do you… Have somewhere to stay?" Maka began, her hands tightly gripping her arms as she strove to retain heat.

Soul's brows furrowed - it seemed he had yet to think of that. "I-I'm not sure how long I was down there." He admitted. Maka frowned. "Maybe." He decided.

"Let's warm up at my place first, in that case." She couldn't simply leave him to wander in the cold in such heavy, wet clothing. It would be cruel. It wasn't too dark out quite yet, the sky holding a greyish overlay rather than a darkening black. Her father would likely be out when she returned home.

He nodded his thanks, gesturing for her to lead the way. Her feet carried her, water-filled boots squishing and squeaking with each step. Her cloth socks were rubbing her feet raw, but she wasn't sure she could bear to remove them at that point. Soul's hands were shoved into his pockets, though his arms remained tight against his sides as a result of the temperature.

The edge of town was steadily coming closer. Maka had never noticed how run-down and dilapidated the buildings were - pieces were breaking away and falling off, piles of rubble sitting on the still grounds. Had it always been like this? She couldn't remember, and the incessant chattering of her teeth wasn't doing much to help her think.

Feet finally met cemented grounds, leaving the sandy desert and entering the town. She could have sworn the temperature dropped yet another ten degrees at footfall, inwardly groaning. He didn't appear to be too enthused either. Maneuvering through barren streets without street lights, they managed to find their way towards the city's inner-workings.

The deeper they traveled through the streets, the darker it seemed to become. Strange, considering they should have reached active street lights by then. And yet, everything was dark. There wasn't a light to be seen. The temperature only seemed to drop, or perhaps their body temperatures were rapidly decreasing. It was difficult to distinguish a difference between the two, being that they were completely soaked and their bones were rattling within their skin.

Hazed coherence vaguely recognized Soul's abrupt halt, having taken a few extra steps before coming to her own stop. Viridian eyes swiveled as she slowly rounded to face him, arms secured in their position crossing her chest, shoulders hiked up to her neck. Her teeth clattered against each other as she muttered, "Soul?"

He merely nodded his head in a forward motion, holding himself in a position similar to Maka's, though his garnet gaze appeared to be locked in their place. Her head turned to accommodate his perspective, finding herself in a similar state of confusion. There was a figure ahead, standing in the center of the street, shrouded by black. The faintest glow of the moon graced the being's figure, giving the appearance that they were a blank slate; a humanoid pillar of ebony without face nor feature.

Fine blonde brows drew in evident confusion, emerald and rose alike attempting to make sense of the visage before them. They stood, staring, for a long moment. Breaths were held. One brave foot acted of its own accord, reaching outward and placing itself firmly upon the concrete. Water sloshed out of the still wet boot, being the only sound to be heard. A hand rose, fingers delicately reaching to grasp a thin wrist, the slightest amount of pressure applied to her flesh as a silent warning.

The wrist slipped out of the delicate grasp as another step was taken. Frigid air condensed and clung to the walls of her throat as the being's head snapped into place, having previously been bowed to face the ground.

"Maka." The word fell from his lips, somewhere between a warning and a plea. She understood, standing frozen in place.

Out of the corner of her eye, she was able to see what appeared to be another figure of the same stature. Soul turned to see a being on his own side, as well as one behind them. Only now did it occur to the pair that they stood in the center of a four way stop, each exit blocked by a pillar of ebony. The buildings encasing them were several stories high with flat surfaces. Four heads stared at them from all angles, though be they faceless.

"Yeah." Her response finally came, passing along her breath.

She shouldn't have blinked. Even the minuscule lapse of her lids allowed the creature to move-no, all of the creatures moved. _Fast_. She swallowed air, foot sliding back reflexively as the faceless being appeared directly in front of her face. Her arm reached out in a desperate attempt to catch Soul, yet she was met with air. Stumbling, nerves aflame, throat closed off in evident panic, she faltered. Her foot shifted, throwing her backward towards the ground. Her lower back slammed against the concrete, heart beating desperately within her chest as a fearful whimper managed to escape the clutches of her throat.

Soul was in no better position, eyes wide as finger-like appendages curled around the curve of his shoulders, latching onto his back and shoving him face first into the ground. Air escaped him in a whir as he fell, chest taking much of the blow and slamming against the pavement. Amaranth lit in fear, in anger, in outrage. "Agh!" He managed to release a gurgle, caught somewhere between pain and rage.

The other two beings stood, lurking off to the sides. They were rigid, standing tall without movement. Maka inched backward in retreat as the being advanced on her, appearing to take its time by languidly swooping to crouch above her lithe form. Previously sheathed jaws began to separate beneath a layer of black, what she could only assume to be skin stretching and ripping and tearing apart. Long strings of the still-connected flesh-like layer hung between widening jaws, providing the appearance of teeth.

She couldn't find her voice; couldn't scream. Every muscle felt taut to the point where movement would cause a snap, her heart attempting to free itself from her chest and escape on its own path. She could only watch in trepidation as the being continued its advance, mind somehow blank and yet full all at once.

" _Yahoo!_ "

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 **As per usual, please inform me of your opinion. Thank you for reading.**


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